Prime Minister Bettel in South Korea, Day 2: Veteran Commemorations, New Consul General

On Wednesday 26 July 2023, on the second day of a three-day visit to South Korea, Luxembourg's Prime Minister, Xavier Bettel, visited the Memorial to the Korean War.

However, before that, Prime Minister Bettel signed a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in the field of Quantum Technology, together with Jongho Lee, South Korea's Minister of Science and IT.

MoU

At the signing ceremony, Minister Jongho Lee explained that, in relation to quantum technology, such a decision cannot be explained by geopolitical factors alone. He praised the leadership of the Luxembourgish government and stated that Luxembourg is an old ally of Korea who deployed a combatant force for its first and only time in Korea in the 1950s. He stated "It is my great pleasure to sign this MoU with Luxembourg". He added that Korea seeks collaboration with other nations in quantum technologies, whereby Luxembourg is actively seeking international collaboration. He also referenced Luxembourg participating in the European Quantum Technology Initiative. He said that it would serve their common interests and he also mentioned quantum cryptography and communication as areas that can benefit from the collaboration and where synergies can be developed.

Prime Minister Bettel referred to "trusted partners", "having a veteran with us here today", and "our common history". He referenced SK Telecom (SKT) having 38m subscribers and which has invested in Geneva, stating that he hoped they will invest in the EU where Luxembourg could provide a stepping stone.

He added that this MoU could be the basis of collaboration between SKT and Luxembourgish telecom companies, and also could provide SKT with the basis to set up in Luxembourg. He also mentioned Uni.lu and LuxConnect, also referencing the new satellite from SES. In addition, he mentioned that yesterday he had invited the president of South Korea to visit Luxembourg, and also extended the invitation to Minister Jongho Lee who responded that he would consider Luxembourg when visiting European countries. If Minister Lee came to Luxembourg, Prime Minister Bettel stated that he would show him not only SES but data embassies, adding "it is very important especially when one doesn't have trusted neighbours". In this context, the issue of energy savings was raised by Minister Lee to which Prime Minister Bettel replied that the design of such are not the same as a number if years ago: they must now be Tier IV compliant.

Korean War Memorial

The visit to the Korean War Memorial was undertaken together with Mi Hee Lentz-Pak who represented the Korean Association in Luxembourg and Luxembourg veteran delegates (Léon Moyen, his son and grand-daughter; Anny Flammang-Pissinger, the wife of Joseeph Flammang who died in 2008; and Pascal Diedenhofen Pascal, husband of the niece of Gilbert Hauffels).

Prime Minister Bettel was welcomed by Choi Wan-Geun, Deputy Minister for Patriots and Veteran Affairs, and Seung-Joo Baek, President of the Korean War Memorial, before laying flowers with Léon Moyen at the Luxembourg monument commemorating soldiers from countries participating in the Korean War, who had disappeared. Inside the main building, Prime Minister Bettel and Léon Moyen both signed the Golden Book.

The delegation also visited the KIA Monument gallery, a space dedicated to the memory of those who died at the front; more than one million names of victims from South Korean forces, police officers and UN forces, including two Luxembourgers: Sargeant Robert Mores and Corporal Roger Stutz whose names are inscribed into one of the monuments.

Prime Minister Bettel, along with the official Luxembourg delegation, also met with Seung-Joo Baek, President of the Korean War Memorial, in the Library of the Korean War Archive Center (KWAC). The meeting addressed the recent exhibition at the Military History Museum in Diekirch in Luxembourg of the 85 Luxembourg participants in the Korean War. Benoit Niederkorn, Director of the Military History Museum in Diekirch, explained that they traced the families of all 85 participants and presented a book with all the details.

Prime Minister Bettel extended an invitation to the President of the Korean War Memorial to visit Luxembourg, explaining that it was a "race against time" as so few Korean War Veterans are still alive.

During the short guided tour of the museum situated within the United Nations room that pays homage to the 21 nations who supported South Korea during the Korean War, a photograph of Léon Moyen was on display, and the guide also traced his (Léon Moyen's) journey while fighting in the Korean War, from landing at Busan to being evacuated to Japan for medical attention.

UN Ministerial Summit on Veteran Affairs

Following a lunchtime transfer to Busan - the port city in the south of the country where Luxembourg soldiers landed at the time - by high-speed train, Prime Minister Bettel and the official delegation attended a UN Ministerial Summit on Veteran Affairs on the theme of "Solidarity for the Value of Freedom". As he was the highest-ranking official in attendance, Prime Minister Bettel was seated on the immediate right of the South Korean delegate, the Minister of Patriots and Veteran Affairs, Park Min-Sik, and was second to address the summit.

In his address, Prime Minister Xavier Bettel referenced bringing war veterans to Normandy to commemorate WWII. He explained that he has not known war (directly involving his country) in his lifetime but politics decided to build a peace project in Europe. He pointed out the "race against time" to bring war veterans together to educate the next generation.

He conceded that Luxembourg is the smallest country around the table but stressed its commitment to peace and upholding democracy. He mentioned Ukraine's President Zelensky and supporting that country in its current fight against a foreign oppressor.  

He mentioned the Luxembourg Korean War veteran Léon Moyen talking about being a young boy when Germany invaded Luxembourg, and this made him determined to help South Korea in the early 1950s.

He talked about it being a common fight and he referenced his being Prime Minister for ten years, but not being able to attend such a commemoration until now. He concluded by talking about his exchanges with war veterans, and being educated by learning about their experiences.

The summit concluded with the signing of a joint declaration.

This was followed by a Banquet held in honour of the Korean War veterans, with each country participating in the Heroes March involving one representative of each nation together with one veteran: as Luxembourg had the highest ranking representative in attendance, Prime Minister Bettel and Léon Moyen were second only to South Korea's Minister of Patriots and Veteran Affairs, Park Min-Sik, and the British Lieutenant-General Andrew Harrison from the United Nations.

When Léon Moyen was seated at the Luxembourg table, Prime Minister Bettel presented him with a miniature replica of the Golden Lady as a reminder of the Grand Duchy. A total of around 350 people participated in the banquet, seated at 42 tables, with musical accompaniment provided by the Australian Army Band.

Kiswire

Later that evening, the official delegation visited Kiswire, a steel wire producer and which has a subsidiary in Bettembourg in Luxembourg. They were welcomed by Young-Chul Hong, President of Kisiwire (Luxembourg's Consul-General to Seoul), and his son Seok-Pyo Hong, the son of the President and CEO of the company. The company started in 1945 and the name Kiswire stands for Korean Iron and Steel Wire. They employ around 5,000 people world-wide.

During a tour, the guide pointed out Kiswire's main activities, creating cables up to 60cm in diameter for suspension bridges world-wide. The company also produces other wires and cables as well as spring wire for car suspensions; their largest volume products are wires for vehicle tyres. In Luxembourg they used to have a manufacturing plant supplying Goodyear, etc.; however, now it serves as their European headquarters.  

The tour moved on to the Hyundai Motor Studio and included a concept car based on autonomous driving as well as future living space design concepts; and its Art Library has 3,000 books across four disciplines: art, architecture, music and photography.

The penultimate engagement of a packed Day #2 itinerary was at the F1963 Cultural Centre - formerly a Kisiwire factory which operated from 1963 to 2008 - where a classical musical concert was given in honour of Prime Minister Bettel, on piano, cello and clarinet, with the musicians including Eunsun Hong on cello and Hans Suh on piano; also, two nine-year-olds performed to delight of those attending within the context of the GMC Summer Music Festival.

New Consul General

A dinner was then held, before which Seok-Pyo Hong was officially sworn in as the new Consul-General of Luxembourg to Seoul. Ambassador Pierre Ferring thanked the Hong family as he said he could always rely on the Honorary Consul as he himself resides outside the country (in Tokyo).

Young-Chul Hong, the outgoing Consul General, said it was a very special moment, serving as the Honorary Consul of Luxembourg for 34 years, he never conducted this ceremony before. He thanked Prime Minister Bettel for fitting the Kisiwire visit into his "super-human" schedule. He mentioned that his father originally held the position as Honorary Consul, then ten years later he was appointed in this position, and now his son will become the new Honorary Consul. He referred to a time in Luxembourg in 2013 when Xavier Bettel was the Mayor of Luxembourg City and, just a week later, he became Prime Minister. He said that Luxembourg has changed considerably. He concluded by wishing his son to do his best to fulfil the job as Honorary Consul of Luxembourg.

Led by Ambassador Ferring, Seok-Pyo Hong was sworn in as Consul General of Luxembourg in South Korea.

Seok-Pyo Hong then spoke and expressed his "deepest appreciation" to Prime Minister Bettel and said he looked forward to serving in the position as the new Consul General, following in the footsteps of both his grandfather and father.

Prime Minister Bettel addressed those present and said that he was very grateful to the Hong family. He mentioned the deep respect that the two countries have for each other. He also thanked the new Consul General and his company for being active in Luxembourg. He acknowledged the role of Kiswire in developing its cultural centre and offering free culture by way of organising around 50 free concerts a year. He concluded by thanking the Hong Family for their friendship which he described as such that "cannot be bought".